


Such Great Heights

by sssouthsideserpentine



Category: Criminal Minds (US TV)
Genre: F/M, Scared Spencer Reid, Spencer Reid has nightmares, mutual comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-11
Updated: 2020-03-11
Packaged: 2021-02-28 18:41:08
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 898
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23101849
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sssouthsideserpentine/pseuds/sssouthsideserpentine
Summary: Max comforts Spencer when he has a nightmares
Relationships: Spencer Reid & Max, Spencer Reid & Maxine Brenner
Kudos: 20





	Such Great Heights

**Author's Note:**

> This is the first work that I've ever attempted for the Criminal Minds fandom! I really liked the dynamic that Spencer and Max had, even though it lasted a whole 3 episodes before she was forgotten about...
> 
> Not that I'm bitter or anything.

Spencer thrashed in his sleep, his breathing quickening as his legs worked to free himself of the blankets that seemed to be suffocating him.

When he closed his eyes he could see them. Every unsub, every bad guy, every person that made Spencer just a little bit more fearful of the world he lived in. That’s why he didn’t like sleeping. The longer he could stay awake, the longer he could go without seeing it all.

Of course, he knew that the downfalls of sleep deprivation were worse than it’s shaky benefits. Spencer could rattle off lots of long-term effects of sleep loss: heart attack, high blood pressure, stroke, mild hallucinations if you’re up for about 72 hours straight _(not that Spencer had ever tried that...)_

There’s a light hand on his back that brings him into consciousness. It’s small and warm, rubbing soothing circle before turning to shake him awake.

_“Spencer...”_ Max whispers through the darkness of the bedroom. The red neon numbers from Spencer’s clock radio glow bright and eerie, _3:33 am_ , and Max can’t help but be a little bit spooked by the time.

Spencer squints one eye open, blinking the sleep out of his eyes as he wakes up just enough to realize what’s going on. “Max? What are yo— are you okay, what’s wrong?” He sits up quickly in bed, grabbing at his temple when all the blood rushes to his head.

“Yeah, I’m fine Spence but are you okay?” Spencer looks at Max strangely, not understanding her cause for concern.

There’s just enough moonlight coming through the blinds that Spencer can start to make out the details of her face: Her pretty, angular cheekbones and full lips, her short hair stuck up in multiple directions from being pressed against the pillows.

“You just started thrashing around and mumbling something...” Max breaks eye contact, adverting her gaze to the window.

“What did I say, Max?” Spencer asks, being a good enough profiler to read her actions as a tell. Despite that, there was a part of him that was nervous to uncover the truths of his subconscious.

He wasn’t scared that some sort of deep trauma would be uncovered; His eidetic memory was both a curse and a blessing when it came to the details of the crimes his line of work exposed him to. 

“You just kept repeating _‘Not her, take me’_ ”

The room falls silent and Spencer feels his heart drop to his stomach. He thinks this is it: _the straw that broke the camel’s back._ It wasn’t the fact that he was too tall, or that his tie was perpetually crooked, or that his right foot was just slight bigger than his left; it was the fact that he was broken. He thinks he ruined it.

“You don’t need to see me like this...” Spencer mumbled, mopping up a spilled tear with the back of his hand.

Max scoffed. “See you like what? You had a nightmare, Spencer. You’re not a super-human” Max wants to reach for his hand but she’s not sure if that’s what he needs right now.

The bedroom had been quiet for some time now, with Spencer overthinking from his side of the bed while Max wasn’t sure what she could do to help.

“Can I hug you?” She asks cautiously, wanting to check in with Spencer yet still offer any bit of comfort she could. Spencer nods, feeling smaller and more embarrassed than he has for a long time.

Max scoots closer to him, feels her way towards him in the darkness. She sits against the headboard and pulls Spencer into her lap, his head resting on her chest. Max’s fingers come to tangle in Spencer’s hair and he hums in relief, pushing his cheek closer to her. It’s as if Spencer wanted to get as close to her as possible, snaking his arms around Max’s waist.

Max presses her cold toes against the skin of Spencer’s legs from where his pajama pants rolled up. He chuckles, spindly fingers playing with the ends of Max’s hair. Spencer is a pleasant weight on top of Max’s body and she revels in the feeling of mutual safety.

Neither one of them were having an easy time falling back to sleep. Max massaged up and down Spencer’s back, trying to lull him back to drowsiness. She gazes at the clock radio once more, _4:11am._

With a huff,Max paws at the bedside table trying to find her cell phone. Untangling her earbuds, she puts one into her ear and extends the other to Spencer. He looks at her quizzically but follows suit and she presses play on a soft, twinkling guitar ballad.

Spencer feels Max relax under him, her movements growing languid as her breathing evened out. If it was light outside, Spencer thinks he would have watched her, studied the details of her face to commit them to memory so he could never forget a thing about her.

He’s not ready to face his demons again just yet, so he focuses on the soft music playing, smiling as he pays attention to the lyrics.

_“I’m thinking it’s a sign, that the freckles in our eyes are mirror images, and when we kiss they’re perfectly aligned_

_And I, have to speculate, That God Himself did make us into corresponding shapes like puzzle pieces from the clay”_


End file.
